An English writer says:
Three or four years ago an attempt was made to supersede the
water-carts of London by laying down on each side of the road a
horizontal pipe, perforated with a row of holes opening toward
the horse-way. The water was to be turned on, and from these
holes it was to jet out to the middle of the road from each
side, and thus water it all. I watched the experiment made near
the Bank of England.
Instead of spouting across the road from all these holes, as
it should have done from any one of them, it merely dribbled;
the reason being that, in order to supply them all, the water
must run through the whole of the long pipe with considerable
velocity, and the viscosity and friction to be overcome in doing
this nearly exhausted the whole force of water-head pressure.
Many other similar blunders have been made by those who have
sought to convey water-power to a distance by means of a pipe of
such diameter as should demand a rapid flow through a long pipe.
This is a clear illustration of friction dissipating force. How much
life force needed for constructive works of righteousness is wasted by
mere friction.
(1154)